SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Ukraine Grants Limited Self-Rule to Eastern Regions
Parliament also passes bill granting amnesty to combatants in Donetsk and Luhansk and ratifies EU pact
Sep 16, 2014
Ukrainian legislators on Tuesday passed a law granting broader autonomy to the Donetsk and Luhansk eastern regions, with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko declaring the move protects the "sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence" of Ukraine while advancing decentralization.
The new bill, initially proposed by Poroshenko, grants greater self-rule to the two regions for a three year period, which includes local elections and policing and use of the Russian language in schools. The bill also stipulates a limited commitment to provide aid to some damaged areas.
A separate amnesty bill, also passed by Ukraine's parliament, will shield "participants of events in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions" from criminal prosecution--a protection that applies to rebel fighters and Ukrainian soldiers, according to an analysis by AFP. Combatants from both sides stand accused of human rights abuses and war crimes.
The new laws were promised in a ceasefire deal signed by Poroshenko earlier this month. According to the United Nations, at least 3,000 people have been killed in Ukraine, and at least 310,000 internally displaced people from Crimea and Donbas are in need of immediate assistance.
But also on Tuesday, in an apparent gesture of fealty to the West, Ukrainian legislators ratified a pact for political and economic association with the European Union. The rejection of this agreement last year by former President Victor Yanukovych touched off protests that led to his ouster in February.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare is the editor of Workday Magazine and a contributing editor for In These Times. She is a former Staff Writer at Common Dreams. She comes from a background in independent journalism for publications including The Intercept, The Nation, and Tom Dispatch.
Ukrainian legislators on Tuesday passed a law granting broader autonomy to the Donetsk and Luhansk eastern regions, with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko declaring the move protects the "sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence" of Ukraine while advancing decentralization.
The new bill, initially proposed by Poroshenko, grants greater self-rule to the two regions for a three year period, which includes local elections and policing and use of the Russian language in schools. The bill also stipulates a limited commitment to provide aid to some damaged areas.
A separate amnesty bill, also passed by Ukraine's parliament, will shield "participants of events in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions" from criminal prosecution--a protection that applies to rebel fighters and Ukrainian soldiers, according to an analysis by AFP. Combatants from both sides stand accused of human rights abuses and war crimes.
The new laws were promised in a ceasefire deal signed by Poroshenko earlier this month. According to the United Nations, at least 3,000 people have been killed in Ukraine, and at least 310,000 internally displaced people from Crimea and Donbas are in need of immediate assistance.
But also on Tuesday, in an apparent gesture of fealty to the West, Ukrainian legislators ratified a pact for political and economic association with the European Union. The rejection of this agreement last year by former President Victor Yanukovych touched off protests that led to his ouster in February.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare is the editor of Workday Magazine and a contributing editor for In These Times. She is a former Staff Writer at Common Dreams. She comes from a background in independent journalism for publications including The Intercept, The Nation, and Tom Dispatch.
Ukrainian legislators on Tuesday passed a law granting broader autonomy to the Donetsk and Luhansk eastern regions, with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko declaring the move protects the "sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence" of Ukraine while advancing decentralization.
The new bill, initially proposed by Poroshenko, grants greater self-rule to the two regions for a three year period, which includes local elections and policing and use of the Russian language in schools. The bill also stipulates a limited commitment to provide aid to some damaged areas.
A separate amnesty bill, also passed by Ukraine's parliament, will shield "participants of events in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions" from criminal prosecution--a protection that applies to rebel fighters and Ukrainian soldiers, according to an analysis by AFP. Combatants from both sides stand accused of human rights abuses and war crimes.
The new laws were promised in a ceasefire deal signed by Poroshenko earlier this month. According to the United Nations, at least 3,000 people have been killed in Ukraine, and at least 310,000 internally displaced people from Crimea and Donbas are in need of immediate assistance.
But also on Tuesday, in an apparent gesture of fealty to the West, Ukrainian legislators ratified a pact for political and economic association with the European Union. The rejection of this agreement last year by former President Victor Yanukovych touched off protests that led to his ouster in February.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.